RULES MAY MAKE THE AREA QUIETER

Although Palm Beach International Airport will be getting busier in the future, plans are to make it quieter as well.

Bolstered by a series of ordinances approved by county commissioners last year, PBIA officials are in the process of putting into force not only a stringent set of rules to keep noise to a minimum, but the equipment to enforce those rules as well.

"We are right now in the process of purchasing a noise monitoring system," said PBIA Noise Abatement Officer Jerry Allen. "It will be installed at 13 remote sites in the area around the airport where we can accumulate data on how well the airlines are complying with noise standards."

From this data, he said, airport officials will be able to establish not only how well the noise restrictions are working, but also what programs will be needed to help airport neighbors cope with the noise.

Officials are looking at everything from home insulating programs, with the cost of that insulation being paid for by the airport, to outright purchase of land affected by noise, Allen said.

"We are gathering information from other airports which have put these programs into effect to see what levels of noise reduction they are looking for and how successful they have been," he said. "We hope to have enough information to make some decisions, or at least offer the residents some options by June 1."

Ordinances are already in effect at the airport prohibiting future use by aircraft noisier than the ones currently using PBIA and setting restrictions on nighttime ground operations such as maintenance which requires noisy engine runups.

Two more controversial ordinances, which are seen as the key to the airport's noise control efforts, have been placed on hold until next fall to allow time for their review by the Federal Aviation Administration.

One ordinance imposes a partial curfew on departures from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily. Only aircraft which meet the latest federal noise standards may leave between those times, although any type of aircraft may land.

Allen said that, under present scheduling, only six flights a day would be affected.

The second ordinance establishes noise-sensitive operations fees, charging higher fees to noisier aircraft and offering rebates to the quietest ones. During nighttime hours, these fees would be multiplied by 10 times.